Twist of Kate

[nanarama]

I think part of the problem I have with all of the accusations about Kate's intentions are - well, she's not smart or savvy enough to orchestrate all of this on her own. She's not in charge here. TLC is. Granted, she has the ability to say "no" - but I think she's caught up in the whole thing, the money, the lifestyle, etc., and may not even realize that saying "no" is an option.

As far as Jon is concerned, I give him no credit at all for anything positive in those kids' lives.

Wow, I disagree. Having watched the show (yes, I'm confessing I watched a lot - my daughter got me into it before she and I both got disgusted with Kate) the things I saw in Jon's interaction with his kids were almost 100% positive. Jon got up in the morning with them while Kate slept in. Jon carved pumpkins with them while Kate had a meltdown about the mess, Jon played outside with them while Kate decided to use the time to organize the garage. While I understand it's important to be organized, keep to a schedule and to work, I rarely saw Kate enjoying her children the way I saw Jon. As a mom who had five children myself very close together in age, I would say that spending time playing and hanging out with your kids is so important. They grow up so fast and then that time is gone. So, yes, I think Jon had very positive interactions with his kids.
Having said that, do I think he behaved like an idiot at the time of and after the divorce? You bet! He has to take responsiblity for those very poor choices and I know those can impact his children in the future - as will Kate's decisions. And I believe she's pretty darn savvy and caught up in the life she wants to continue to lead. Before the show, she would've been content to somehow make it through caring for her kids and, probably, working as a nurse. Now that she's had a taste of all the perks, she'll do whatever it takes to keep them coming. From what I can tell, Jon was willing to break out of that cycle - she is not.
So I can't really understand anyone who has watched the show thinking that Jon, as a loving father, hasn't had any positive impact on the lives of his children.

[Jexter]

Wow, I disagree. Having watched the show (yes, I'm confessing I watched a lot - my daughter got me into it before she and I both got disgusted with Kate) the things I saw in Jon's interaction with his kids were almost 100% positive. Jon got up in the morning with them while Kate slept in. Jon carved pumpkins with them while Kate had a meltdown about the mess, Jon played outside with them while Kate decided to use the time to organize the garage. While I understand it's important to be organized, keep to a schedule and to work, I rarely saw Kate enjoying her children the way I saw Jon. As a mom who had five children myself very close together in age, I would say that spending time playing and hanging out with your kids is so important. They grow up so fast and then that time is gone. So, yes, I think Jon had very positive interactions with his kids.

Having said that, do I think he behaved like an idiot at the time of and after the divorce? You bet! He has to take responsiblity for those very poor choices and I know those can impact his children in the future - as will Kate's decisions. And I believe she's pretty darn savvy and caught up in the life she wants to continue to lead. Before the show, she would've been content to somehow make it through caring for her kids and, probably, working as a nurse. Now that she's had a taste of all the perks, she'll do whatever it takes to keep them coming. From what I can tell, Jon was willing to break out of that cycle - she is not.

So I can't really understand anyone who has watched the show thinking that Jon, as a loving father, hasn't had any positive impact on the lives of his children.

This is EXACTLY how I feel....on every point!!!

I will just add that Jon was far more intimate with the kids than Kate ever was. He played with them and shared genuine, heartfelt hugs. It also seemed that Jon was more responsive and empathetic to the kids' emotional needs. I think Jon genuinely ENJOYS and interacts with the kids on a personal level that Kate doesn't seem to get to.

Jon's bimbette fest was completely unfortunate and not good for the kids. However, on every other count, Jon was/is an exceptional father. IMO, the kids benefit from his parenting in a far more meaningful and valuable way than they do from Kate's parenting.

With Jon, the kids are loved, played with, and free to be kids. With Kate, the kids are ordered about, dismissed, and made to be neurotic.

[Debb70]

This is EXACTLY how I feel....on every point!!!

I will just add that Jon was far more intimate with the kids than Kate ever was. He played with them and shared genuine, heartfelt hugs. It also seemed that Jon was more responsive and empathetic to the kids' emotional needs. I think Jon genuinely ENJOYS and interacts with the kids on a personal level that Kate doesn't seem to get to.

Jon's bimbette fest was completely unfortunate and not good for the kids. However, on every other count, Jon was/is an exceptional father. IMO, the kids benefit from his parenting in a far more meaningful and valuable way than they do from Kate's parenting.

With Jon, the kids are loved, played with, and free to be kids. With Kate, the kids are ordered about, dismissed, and made to be neurotic.

ITA. I watched almost every episode of their show and by the end I was so fed up with Kate. I didn't know how Jon tolerated her. Then Jon turned screwy in the separation and divorce. It was very unfortunate. I'm not sure what happened to his brain. He was by far the better parent before they separated IMO.

When their show went off I dropped the case against Kate and let it go. I decided to start fresh. I even rooted for her on DWTS. I hope she has really changed and is better with the kids now. I try not to read or watch much about her. I'm trying to keep negative thoughts away. She is the only person I have ever known who likes to get sympathy. Most people hate that. She loves it.

I hope Jon is still good with the kids the way he used to be. I try to avoid reading much about him any more too. I think that maybe he received very bad legal advice.

[socalledchaos]

Regarding Jon's behavior, I think it's perfectly natural for someone to go a little bit nuts after a divorce with partying or sex. I can't justify cheating on someone whatever the reasoning may be, and he still comes off as a huge tool IMO, but the behavior he exhibited after the divorce is something that many newly single men will do. He just happened to have cameras following him the whole time.

[swissmiss150]

I add my positive remarks about Jon and his obvious love for his kids - they rush to him when he appears. He is so ahead of Kate as a parent - Kate seems to look at them as meal tickets.

If Jon can straighten out his immaturity in regards to women, that would be great.

[J.D.]

Would we be so willing to forgive Kate if she were the one who went man-crazy after the split? Never!

[Duckyface]

Would we be so willing to forgive Kate if she were the one who went man-crazy after the split? Never!

If Kate had a close loving relationship with the kids, spent the most time with them, did most of their care taking,
and Jon constantly criticized her for not doing enough of it, for doing it wrong, for being to fat, for not having enough hair, for breathing too loudly or any other little thing you can think of, if Kate finally had enough of her self esteem being smashed to smithereens and went looking for a man she hoped would treat her right and boost her sewer level self esteem, we probably would be more forgiving of it in her than we are of it in Jon.

[Housewives Fan]

I agree with so many of the posts here.

I especially agree that if Jon had verbally abused Kate on TV he would be America's most hated man. Kate treated him like crap for 5 seasons and yet she gets a pass?

Does anyone remember Jon working and then coming home to bathe the kids, change the diapers, get them all into bed? He did it with a smile. No complaints. Jon was her little mule running errands, packing the car, carrying everything, unpacking the car....you get the idea. When did we see Jon sitting in the white plastic chair? When did we see Jon pointing and ordering her around?

Kate complains constantly. She wanted the kids and now she complains about having them. She wanted a divorce and now she complains about being alone. She wants to travel and then she complains about being away from the kids. She wanted fame and then complains about the paparazzi. Her PR coach is working with her to infuse the words "blessed" and "grateful' into her sentences but they are clearly out of place and lacking genuine meaning. I wonder if they encourage her by telling her "Ok Kate, we will give you $100 everytime you say one of these words in your interview. "

[Bunny555]

Since the divorce Jon has taken many a misstep and presented himself in ways that have made me wince more than once. He is far from perfect but I have never seen him act any way other than lovingly toward the children. He reprimanded them when it was needed but he also was the one who actually seemed to take joy in being with and playing with them. This was on top of all of his "chores" to which we can add cleaning the house before the arrival of a housekeeper.

I'm curious as to what kind of family thinks that any advice from Kate can improve their lives. I won't watch but I'll be reading.

[nanarama]

Would we be so willing to forgive Kate if she were the one who went man-crazy after the split? Never!

Would we be willing to give Jon a pass if he had verbally abused Kate the way she did him? Everyone would be up in arms!
I don't think either is without blame. In a divorce, that is very rarely the case. However, I have seen in Jon's interactions with his children a lot of love and joy. He has been more the parent to play with them and let them enjoy their childhood.
We could debate till the cows come home who was at fault in their marriage failing, (probably both,) but these recent comments have been in response to a previous opinion stated that Jon has had no positive interactions with his children. On that point I strongly disagree.